Outriggers of the above mentioned kind are known and are provided to minimize risk of tangling fishing lines while simultaneously trolling with several fishing lines to give a wider area of coverage while trolling.
In prior outrigger systems known to us, the fisherman moves the outrigger line by hand to move the fishing line release unit to the side of the boat, attaches the fishing line to the release, and then reverses the direction of the outrigger line and by hand moves the release out to near the free end of the outrigger pole. However, it is difficult for an individual fisherman both to handle his fishing line and manipulate the outrigger line manually in the above described manner. Moreover, when feeding the outrigger line by hand, there is a tendency to move same in an unsteady, jerky manner, thereby creating a risk of release of the fishing line by the release unit on the outrigger line.
Accordingly, the objects of the present invention include:
1. to provide a motorized outrigger drive for an outrigger on a fishing boat which is intended to overcome the disadvantages of the above mentioned prior art type;
2. to provide an outrigger drive as aforesaid which, with a simple flick of a switch, automatically takes the outrigger release unit quickly and smoothly out to its outboard trolling position adjacent to the end of the outrigger boom, and which with another flick of the switch returns the outrigger release quickly back to the side of the boat;
3. to provide an outrigger drive as aforesaid which maintains the outrigger line under tension and it delivers steady line feed and which avoids the need for extra springs, rubber shock cords or the like;
4. to provide an outrigger drive as aforesaid which is operable from the standard boat electrical system (e.g. 12 volt electrical system), which mounts easily with conventional hand tools on either vertical, inclined, or horizontal surfaces of the boat, and which may provide for automatic overload protection, as well as for either automatic or manual outrigger line advancement and retraction;
5. to provide an outrigger drive as aforesaid capable of utilizing standard outrigger line, or a variety of conventional lines, for example including Dacron braided line of widely available type and which is capable of positively driving such line to advance and retract the line release unit;
6. to provide an outrigger drive as aforesaid in which the drive unit is capable of automatically selfadjusting adjusting its position to provide for proper alignment with the outrigger line as the latter extends out to the outboard portion of the outrigger boom; and
7. to provide a pulley drive system usable for a variety of rotational drives, including a motorized outrigger drive, in which low line or belt wear, stress and tension can be achieved.